Switchfoot - If the House Burns Down Tonight

      Bear with me... this is my first ever chord/tab submission. I've recently just got back into guitar and 
am taking it more seriously now. I struggle a bit with rhythm, so some of the chord transitions may be 
slightly off, but I have a decent ear (I'd like to think.) Anyways... I love music and Switchfoot, so I 
thought I'd give this a go! I've allowed for the option to let other contributors improve this tab. So have at
it :) Feedback is welcome! 


TABS:

[Intro Tab]

The intro sounds to basically be power chords with individually picked notes, but with a slight deviation 
on the D5 where instead of returning to the A note (fret 7, D string)as the pattern would imply... instead 
it sounds like it goes up to E note (fret 9, G string) and then returning to the pattern of string 5, 4, 3, 4 
and string 6, 5, 4, 5 that it started with.    


   E5       C5         G5      D5 
e|-------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------|
G|-----9--------------------------7-9--| 
D|---9---9------10--------5-----7------|
A|-7---------10----10---5---5-5--------|
E|---------8----------3----------------|

  E5       C5         G5      D5      G*
e|-------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------|
G|-----9--------------------------7-9-0| 
D|---9---9------10--------5-----7-----5|
A|-7---------10----10---5---5-5--------|
E|---------8----------3----------------|

*Just the G note is played here on either the D string or both the D and the open G, 
but you can play a full G chord on "burn" if you like. 


[Piano hook tab]  

This is played leading into first verse and repeated intermittently throughout the verses. 
On guitar, from my interpretation of it, it works best to pull off from the D note (fret 10, high E string) 
to the B note (fret 7, high E string) 

e|---7-8-10p-7-|
B|-8-----------|
G|-------------|
D|-------------|
A|-------------|
E|-------------|


[Lead guitar, end of Chorus 1 through Verse 2 tab] 

Listen to the recording for strumming and rhythm. But it's the G note at fret 5/D string, G note on the 
open G string, G note at fret 7/B string. This is played from "and let the rest burn" at the end of 
the first chorus into the second verse and ends just before "one heart"(while the verse chord progression 
of Em, C, G continues under it.) 

e|---|
B|-7-|
G|-0-|
D|-5-|
A|---|
E|---|

[Lead guitar during the bridge]  

It sounds like the same notes as the piano hook, but the G note (fret 8, B string) continues to be played as 
it climbs up from B, to C, D, and back down on the high E string. Listen to the recording for rhythm. 
I may not have it exact.

e|-7-7-7-7-8-8-8-8-10-8-8-7-|
B|-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8--8-8-8-|
G|--------------------------|
D|--------------------------|
A|--------------------------|
E|--------------------------|

Note: on the line right before the choruses at "give me the fire" the G chord is not played, but muted and 
played percussively with harmonics. This is also done some in the transition between the G and C during the 
chorus itself. At the bridge: beginning with the G chord at the final "burn" in Chorus 2, each G chord gets 
a down and up strum that you let ring. The Em and C get one strum each, transitioning quickly back to the 
ringing G chord. This pattern continues throughout the bridge up until the final line of
"motor run, run, run" where the C chord does not transition back into the G and is palm-muted/played rapidly 
building into a crescendo. 


CHORDS:

[Intro] 

Em             C 
Ashes from the flames
                  G
The truth is what remains
                      D              
The truth is what you save

From the fire
Em                         C
And you fight for what you love
                   G
Don't matter if it hurts
                       D
You find out what it's worth
                     G
And you let the rest burn


[Verse 1]

       Em
The sunset burns like gasoline
         C                               G
Touch me and make sure that I'm not dreaming
      Em
I see her face and my heart skips beats
      C                                            G   
But I still get the feeling that we're half asleep and
          Em  
There's a spark in the corner of my baby's eye
       C                               G
Like a distant star that won't burn quiet
      Em 
And I might not know what I want from this life
      C                                  G 
But I know I want more than the starting line
G 
So give me the fire, yea give me the fire


[Chorus 1]

G
I can hear the motor running down the interstate
G
And all the distractions fade away
       C
And if the house burns down tonight
C
I got everything I need with you by my side
G
I see the smoke piling up in the rear view mirror
G
Yeah but I ain't ever seen it any clearer
       C
And if the house burns down tonight
C                                            Em
I got everything I need when I got you by my side
            Em
And let the rest burn
            C
And let the rest burn
            G
And let the rest burn


[Verse 2]

       Em
I've given too much of my heart away
          C                            G
My soul’s holding on like a house divided
       Em  
Like a match it burns down like a masquerade
      C                                   G 
And I had to let it go when the fire ignited
    Em         C                           G
One heart, two hands, your life is all you hold
   Em         C                        G 
To hold, hold tight and let the bitter go
         Em                     G 
Yeah let it go, and give me the fire


[Chorus 2]

G
The smoke tries choking the pacific sun
G
We rocket down the road like we're shot out of guns
       C 
And if the house burns down tonight
C                   
I got everything I need with you by my side
G 
Holding you and the wheel and it occurs to me
G
We're driving down the edge of eternity
       C 
And if the house burns down tonight
C                                            Em
I got everything I need when I got you by my side
            C
And let the rest burn
        Em  C    G 
And let the rest burn


[Bridge]

G , Em , C , G , G , Em , C , G ,

                      G
Put your hand in mine and
               Em C   G 
Put your heart in driving
                          G
We got everything we need yeah
                  Em C    G 
We got everything we need yeah
                   G 
Left it all behind us
             Em   C    G 
What we need will find us
                          G
We got everything we need yeah
                  Em C    G
We got everything we need yeah
                            G 
Can you hear that motor running
                    Em  C   G
Can you hear that motor running
                           G
There ain’t no stopping us now
                   Em  C  G 
There ain’t no slowing us down
                            G
Can you hear that motor running
                    Em  C 
Can you hear that motor run, run, run


[Chorus 3]

G
And all those lies that mattered most to me
G
Were draining me dry making a ghost of me
       C
And if the house burns down tonight
C
I got everything I need, everything I need
G
There’s a fire coming that we all will go through
G
You possess your possessions or they possess you
       C
And if the house burns down tonight
                                             Em
I got everything I need when I got you by my side
            C 
And let the rest burn


[Outro]

Em             C                         G 
Ashes from the flames, the truth is what remains